Black Swordsman vs Absolute Sword
by ChristmasForJuan
Summary: This short story is set around 23 days before the conclusion of the Mother's Rosario arc, and focuses on the battle between Kirito and Yuuki. Since neither of them have ever been shown fighting all-out in the original series, this short story aims to pit the two together at their maximum potential. Find out whether "Dual-Blades" or "Mother's Rosario" is superior.
1. Main Story

**Author's Note**

Hey there, this is ChristmasForJuan.

The story you're about to read is essentially nothing other but an all-out clash between arguably the two most skilled VR Combatants of their generation. I know that this is a topic of great controversy, with many people overly passionate about either side, so I want to shed a little bit of a neutral perspective on this needlessly drawn out debate. Though I can't call myself wholly unbiased, I am annoyed by how awkwardly the anime adaption has handled this topic so far, so here I am giving you my own interpretation of Kirito's and Yuuki's relationship.

Well… there's that, but mostly I'm just a sucker for cool fighting scenes, so view this story as a creative outlet of sorts.

Anyway, I will be using a number of "Sword Skills" in this fight, and while I'll be trying to describe them to the best of my ability you're welcome to check out the wikia before or while you're reading this to prevent yourself from getting completely lost during the skirmish. I'll also be throwing some Sword Skills of my own design into the mix, namely "Alpha Oblivion" and "Stellar Collision", which you'll obviously not be able to look up on the wikia. If you're unclear about their activation or properties, feel free to message me or ask about me in the comments.

Well then, with that out of the way, enjoy the fight!

* * *

 **March 6, 2026**

"A huge castle made of stone and steel"

Made out of 100 circular floors, Aincrad contained a multitude of varying ecosystems, climates, and terrains, making it nigh impossible for a single player to explore the entirety of the deadly beauty it housed within.

Amidst these 100 exuberant floors stood a simple wood-log cabin. Despite it's notable serenity, it had been home to a number of eccentric personalities, each involved in adventures that rose above the simple normalcy of their humble abode. That day seemed to be no exception.

Two Cait Sith, an Imp, and a Spriggan lazed about the cabin when the sun burned hot, tired from the dizzy heat. Regardless, it seemed inevitably that the gathering of the two famed swords would produce nothing less than the greatest clash of skill in the history of VRMMORPG. Needless to say, this is the story of the battle between the two strongest virtual Swordsmen.

* * *

"… Kirito, I'm thirsty~", Yuuki sluggishly demanded, exerting the minimal effort required to tilt her head to the side while lying flat on the cushioned sofa.

"While you are at it, I'll have some Barley Tea", Sinon delightfully stretched her arms high above her head while arching her back and tail, letting out a heartfelt yawn.

"Ah, if it isn't too much trouble, can I have mine chilled…", Silica abashedly mumbled, her munchkin ears twitching in-between her shy glances.

Confronted by the trio's demands before he had the chance to blink away the lingering weight on his eyelids, Kirito pinched his nose to wake his mind.

"… you guys. Weren't you just dozing off as well?"

"And whose fault do you think that is?"

 _"… got me there"_

Outnumbered three to one, Kirito scratched the quietly snoring pet-dragon on his stomach behind it's ear to wake it and carried it over to it's glassy-eyed owner.

"Ok fine, while I am in the kitchen I'll bring some of Asuna's left-over snacks too."

Still a little disoriented from just having woken up, Kirito didn't bother putting up a fight against the newly formed alliance and slowly dragged himself to the northern end of the living room. In response to their smooth victory Silica and Sinon donned victorious smiles, while Yuuki lifted her left fist forming a "V" with her index and middle finger; her face still buried in the soft hand-picked cushions of her makeshift bed.

Currently the two Cait Siths sat by the wooden dining table located at the western wall of the living room, while Yuuki was comfortably sprawled out on the large sofa near the entrance. They had initially gathered to prepare for raiding a newly discovered dungeon in the southern quadrant of the Salamander Territory, but Asuna was unexpectedly held down by family affairs, while Klein had to excuse himself to help out one of his co-workers at his company. Though Agil and Liz were mostly free, they had messaged Kirito earlier that they would wait for the others to log in before joining them in ALO. The Sleeping Knights were first on the list to fill in the opened gaps, but they had just pulled an all nighter the day before, grinding a low-leveled dungeon in the Leprechaun territory to farm crafting materials for Nori.

In the end, Kirito, Silica, and Sinon were the only ones to actually show up… with the welcome addition of Yuuki who had previously been let in by Asuna barely a few hours ago before instantly succumbing to her fatigue.

And so it happened that rather than preparing for a dungeon run, the quartet instead used their time for completing menial chores and lazing about.

Returning with drinks and snacks, Kirito turned to Silica as he set down a plate of hand-made cookies, "So how is your homework doing? With Sinon helping, you shouldn't have too hard of a time understanding the text, right?"

"That is true, but she won't ever tell me what the correct translation is!"

"There is no point in me helping you if I just straight out tell you the correct answer Silica."

"See! Help me out too Kirito", Silica begged teary eyed.

"Now now, it isn't too hard once you get used to it. Take this passage for example. We just did something similar in the last text, right? So if you…"

As the bobcat lost herself in yet another lecture, Silica dutifully shifted her attention from Kirito to Sinon, her teary eyes replaced by an attentive gaze.

The sight of the two brought a warm smile to his face as Kirito turned to return to his favorite rocking chair, a smile that turned to a low chuckle as he began to liken their relationship to that of an elder and younger sister.

 _"Oh well, time for another-"_

"By the way Kirito?"

"Hm?", stopping with a hand on the chair, Kirito turned to Yuuki with an inquisitive look; the tomboyish swordswoman looked slightly more awake than before.

"I asked Asuna this before as well, and she kept telling me that I should ask you myself but… Why is that you never dual wield?"

"Ah… I-…"

Their interests peeked, the two Cait Siths chimed in on the conversation.

"Now that you mention it, I never actually saw Kirito properly dual wielding. I don't think a gun counts as a second sword after all."

"Even though I was in Aincrad too…"

"Well you see… I guess I just never had the chance to?", Kirito warily brushed off.

It was a given that his active avoidance of his defining skill was motivated by something more than mere chance, but Kirito was reluctant to go too in depth about dark web of emotions woven into the techniques of the Black Swordsman of the past just yet, a string of memories that resurfaced at the touch of his second sword.

Kirito shook his head to rid if himself of his useless thoughts, "Not that it matters anyway, why do you ask?"

"It's just that Asuna tells me stories now and again, of how brilliant you seemed every time you would pull out a second sword, and well… I only ever fought you when you were wielding a single sword."

"And you clearly won that battle."

"Heheee~", rubbing the back of her head while grinning a glowing smile, Yuuki didn't take the compliment with a shred of modesty, yet her straightforward gloat was perfectly in line with her charismatic attitude.

Having successfully distracted Yuuki, Kirito planned on dropping the topic and continue his nap when Silica carelessly muttered, "So in a fight between Yuuki and Kirito going all out, I wonder who would win?"

.

.

.

It felt as if the Cardinal System itself stopped to ponder, seeing as the rustling of the leaves, along with most other ambient sound effects, suddenly drowned into a brief cataclysm of silence.

 _"Oi oi oi, what is with this mood?! I better log out before anything bad happens!"_

However, it was too late. Before Kirito could summon the menu screen to escape the dangerous development, Yuuki had already jumped to her feet, her bursting excitement barely contained in her petite physique.

"Alright! It is decided! Kirigaya Kirito, I gladly accept your challenge to a duel to the death!"

"Whoa! Calm down a second! First of all my name isn't-… whatever. But no! I never agreed to anything like that!"

Far from calming the frolicking imp, his protest only seemed to add oil to the fire. And if that wasn't enough, the devilish pair of Cait Siths jumped at the chance to rally under Yuuki's banner.

"Now that I think about it, Kirito-kun only ever used a single sword when fighting Yuuki."

"Ehhhh~ This might be something interesting to watch."

 _"Don't encourage her!"_

Seizing the opportunity to deliver the final blow, Yuuki deftly danced to Kirito's side and leaned forward to whisper, _"You know, if you don't want to fight me, there's nothing to stop me from accidentally mentioning those magazines of yours to Asuna-chan~"_

"How do you know about-?!", stopping himself mid-sentence, Kirito glanced over to the clueless cats whose outstretched ears were plainly trying to pick up on the secret conversation.

"I mean… w-when did you see…?", Kirito nervously coughed.

"A while back when you adjusted my camera in your room~"

 _"Tch"_ , Kirito visibly frowned as he blamed himself for his own carelessness.

Still, despite his visible displeasure, Kirito welcomed his inevitable loss with surprising ease, largely due to being swept away by the cheer of Yuuki's gleeful joy.

"Fine. Let's get this over with", Kirito sighed, feigning his reluctance.

When confronted with such pure fighting spirit, who was Kirito to deny?

* * *

Kirito and Yuuki walked around the back of the cabin in search for a flat and unobstructed patch of grass, having left behind their company due to the bobcat's insistence on finishing Silica's homework first before heading over to watch the unfolding spectacle. Among the melodic sounds of groaning wood and whistling grass, one could clearly hear an additional rhythmic melody harmonizing to nature's orchestral performance.

Happily humming an improvised tune, Yuuki settled on a fairly even strip of grass not too far away from their starting location.

"Is this alright?"

"Yeah, this should do the job. So what were the conditions again? No flying, no magic, and I absolutely have to go all out from the beginning… which means two swords."

"Yup, those are the rules~. Don't you want to change first though?"

"Ah, right"

Still wearing the tunic and trousers he had napped in, Kirito hurriedly equipped his cloth-based armor set from his menu screen, an armor choice that never failed to raise eyebrows amongst seasoned players who valued the protection of plate and studded leather more than the dexterity provided by mere cloth. Yuuki too seemed to find comfort in her chest piece that accompanied her garb.

"Speaking of which, aren't you tired from yesterday? You said you pulled an all-nighter with Nori and the rest, and you even forgot to remove your armor before falling asleep. Do you really want to do this?"

"Don't worry about me, this sort of thing is normal for me already. You should really worry a little bit more about yourself though. I'll be serious from the very start, you know?"

While sung in a joking manner, Yuuki's voice noticeably sharpened towards the end, ridding Kirito of any lingering hesitation he might have had before this.

Yuuki's duel invitation appeared seconds after Kirito's tight-fitting jacket materialized over his upper torso, which he dismissed by tapping the "HP to 0" option. Not long after that, both parties were notified of the start of the duel by the big timer that hovered perfectly between the both of them, counting down from thirty.

Readying himself with two of his favorite long-swords that Lizbeth had crafted for him from materials gathered in the Underworld, Kirito haphazardly swung them around to familiarize himself with their weight before slowly entering his combat stance. Opposite him, Yuuki had already unsheathed her thin long-sword and entered a light footed posture after shifting her weight around to get used to the springy earth.

As the timer approached single digits, Kirito and Yuuki finalized their adjustments and focused their attention on the opponent before them. Yuuki's cheery attitude swiftly drained away to reveal a dry, calculated focus that seemed strangely foreign in her childlike stature.

Ever since the first time they exchanged blows of steel, Yuuki was awed by the suffocating sense of dread that seeped out of Kirito's solid stance, though she couldn't help but notice that it seemed strangely lacking; much like an exotic flower on the verge of bloom.

It was only now that she realized the source of her unease.

Two swords resting as naturally in his palms as a wyvern wore it's claws, the Kirito before her exerted pressure unlike any she had ever felt. Though only for a flash, Yuuki was tempted to jump back and flee, to run and hide from the monster that was about to devour her. The mere thought of facing that beast head on… excited her.

Noticing the shift in air, Kirito realized that Yuuki had been dead serious when warning him that she would give her all to fight him. Even though he was clearly aware that death in this world was nothing more than a brief waiting period, he couldn't help but feel a familiar chill coil itself around his pulsing heart, it's venomous fangs waiting to sink themselves into squirming prey. As his pupils traced the sharpened edge of his opponent's sword, Kirito seemed to barely notice the ticking countdown anymore.

Not long after that, the timer hit zero.

Yuuki reacted first by shooting forward with godlike speed, thrusting her sword and body out like a needle.

Barely able to react to her pressing advance, Kirito took a quick right step towards her and rooted his foot to the ground under his weight. While doing so, he swung both swords parallel to each other in a single swipe and crashed them into the left side of Yuuki's pinpoint thrust, knocking her light blade out of it's path with the combined weight of his steel. However, while Kirito continued to pin Yuuki's sword down with his left, his right sword dislodged itself from the attack and bounced directly towards Yuuki's pale nape.

Deciding against dodging backwards or underneath the blade, Yuuki leaned forward, adjusted the grip on her sword, and forcibly pulled it back at shoulder height to intercept the incoming attack, creating a high-pitched grinding noise as steel screeched against steel. Instead of taking the blow head on, Yuuki continued her forward movement by adjusting her footing for a quick diagonal dash to the left, allowing her to harmlessly redirect Kirito's guillotine down the length of her sword as she dashed past his unprotected right side.

While this restricted her own sword's movement and disallowed her from capitalizing on her positioning, Yuuki still managed to scratch Kirito's upper arm and deprive him of a few pixels of health, turning the momentum into her favor.

Frowning at Yuuki's uniquely agile and responsive fighting style, Kirito made an attempt at recovering his balance by spinning around to meet Yuuki's next attack that had already halfway traveled the distance between the two.

Purposefully locking Kirito in ultra-close ranged combat, Yuuki forcibly took advantage of her early lead and gave Kirito no chance to initiate counterattacks of his own.

However, while Yuuki may have had a clear advantage in raw speed, Kirito just as easily trumped her in raw power. Additionally, while the ferocious imp debatably possessed greater swordsmanship than her opposing spriggan, she lacked the core of any true swordsman.

Experience.

Regrettably, real combat experience was the single thing the Absolute Sword lacked … and the attribute that the Black Swordsman possessed more than anyone else.

Placing his trust in Yuuki's naivety, Kirito risked the outcome of the entire duel as he gambled on his next move.

Delivering a powerful underhand swing, Yuuki used the momentum of her whole body to knock away Kirito's right sword and rendered it useless for the following few instants, creating an opening large enough to squeeze in a big move. Yuuki pulled back her sword and activated "Vertical Square" … which was exactly what Kirito had hoped for.

Having purposefully created a tempting opening by letting his sword be knocked upwards by one of Yuuki's attacks, he was able to trick Yuuki into creating an opening of her own. What Kirito was aiming for was the brief period of inaction before the activation of any sword skill.

True, while eYuuki had long perfected the activation process for most of the sword skills she had in her arsenal, reducing their activation period to a mere split second, this would be meaningless against an opponent of equal skill whose sword skill was already set in motion. With his knocked up right-handed sword already positioned over his head due to the previous attack, Kirito was able to active his charge-type sword skill "Sonic Leap" just an instant before Yuuki's "Vertical Square". As the raging blue and yellow swords converged in on each other, it was Kirito's attack that struck first.

The explosive metallic collision heralded the true start of the duel.

Despite Kirito's ability to regain initiative and strike first, this outcome seemed to be overwhelmingly in Yuuki's favor. After all, between a 4-hit consecutive hit skill and a mere single-hit skill, even complete novice wouldn't have a hard time figuring out which was superior. Nonetheless, more than any other skill, Kirito chose to conduct his scheme with the 1-hit charge type skill "Sonic Leap" for one specific reason.

With the first hit of her four consecutive hit skill blocked by Kirito's first and only hit of his counter sword-skill, Yuuki was just about to initiate her second and third strike to quickly whittle down Kirito's HP, when suddenly, Kirito's stationary body's outline became blurred.

Charge-type sword skills were different from ordinary sword skills in that they possessed an additional calculation process on top of the usual system assist. Instead of solely guiding the user's body and sword through the desired motion known as "Sword Skill", a calculated amount of kinetic energy would be applied to the user as well and propel him towards the targeted area.

While fairly efficient for closing gaps between monsters and enemy players, charge-type sword skills were generally seen as obsolete in close ranged combat for obvious reasons. However, having surpassed common sense on multiple occasions, it only seemed natural for Kirito to be the first player to defy this widespread misconception.

Activating "Sonic Leap" at zero distance while locking swords with his opponent, the acceleration factor that should have been applied to him was instead completely absorbed by Yuuki. With their grinding swords acting as a conduit, the forward momentum seamlessly transferred from one swordsman to the other.

"Wha-?!", before fully grasping the gravity of the situation, Yuuki instinctively resisted the sudden backwards thrust by rooting her stance in an attempt to resist the system's force with brute strength, but this too was foreseen by Kirito.

The reason why he chose "Sonic Leap" over "Rage Spike" which clearly had longer range, and thus a higher factor of kinetic energy, was because "Sonic Leap" allowed the user to freely choose the direction of his charge.

If, for example, one were to aim the skill upwards into the sky, it was possible to propel oneself skyward, or in this case, create an inescapable death trap for an enemy opponent as they are flung into the air. Kirito was confident that this (dirty) move would turn the tide of the battle. Pearls of sweat traveling down the distance of his brow, he completed his vertical swing and sent Yuuki flying.

Her initial stance was now completely broken and Yuuki was therefore subjected to a paralysis penalty for having her sword skill interrupted, helplessly climbing higher and higher into the air. When gravity finally caught up to her, she could do naught but watch as she plunged face first down towards the ground.

Gaining more and more speed the closer she got, Kirito estimated that an unprotected drop of this height would at least decrease her HP by 5-10%, which was a health difference he desperately needed. He himself had already been whittled down to 94% of his maximum HP.

Once her immobility period was finally over, Yuuki was barely two meters from the ground. With no way to escape his perilous trap, Kirito readied himself to charge in as soon as she made contact to prevent Yuuki from recovering her stance and capitalize on his lead.

Unfortunately, he never got the chance to.

With no trace of fear, panic, nor hesitation, Yuuki took immediate action the instant the system released her body from unmoving stasis. Using her left arm and legs to rotate her body parallel to the ground while simultaneously pulling back her right arm towards her shoulder, an acrobatic feat accomplished at superhuman speed, Yuuki gave the bloody crimson particle effect no opportunity to properly coat her sword before she shot it forward at subsonic velocity, cratering the earth on impact and tearing the surrounding air with the deafening wail of jet-engines.

"… you gotta be kidding me…"

Flamboyantly splitting the dust cloud with a single swing of her trusted sword, Yuuki struck a victory pose in celebration of foiling Kirito's underhanded scheme. Her HP was still at 100%.

"Yaay! You almost got me there, but it seems like you are still no match for me apprentice-kun, hohoho~", blowing away the suffocating tension with a friendly jape, Kirito was seriously considering just walking away from this match.

"… that was 'Vorpal Strike' at the end, wasn't it?"

"You noticed? Apparently if you deactivate your wings in midair, you don't have the recoil absorption you usually have in arial battles, so the kickback of the skill can still affect you. I never really had the chance to try this out before, so I'm lucky it worked out~"

"You…", struck speechless by Yuuki's recklessness and naiveté, Kirito could do nothing but let out a tired sigh.

"To think that you would use an improvised technique in a situation like that. Just what kind of human are you?", he wryly teased.

"Wha- … it was your fault for cheating in the first place! I've never seen anybody use 'Sonic Leap' like that! Shouldn't you report this to the GMs?"

"Technically it doesn't count as cheating if I am not intentionally breaking any rules…"

"It seems what Asuna said about you was right after all…"

"What? What did she say about me?"

"Hehee~ I might just tell you if you are able to beat me in the next five minutes."

"That's impossible!"

Ending their short dispute, the two swordsmen took a deep breath each and fell back into their combat stances. Terrifying as it might be for the both of them, the two could not wait to go up against an opponent of equal, or even greater strength than their own.

Slowing his breathing, Kirito tensed up his muscles and spun the conceptual gears in his brain. He could already feel time slow down as he lost himself in the vibrant shade of his opponent's eyes, attempting to predict her next move.

Provoked by her opponent's analytical glare, the small-statured powerhouse once again charged forward at full speed. This time however, Yuuki chose to initiate the fight with a sword skill from the get-go. Setting her sword ablaze with the bright shine of the double thrust sword skill "Parallel Sting", Yuuki planned to take the lead again.

In attempt to intercept her attack, Kirito planted his body steadily onto the ground with the intention of breaking through her offense with brute force. Positioning the aqua colored sword in his right hand at his left waist as if storing it in an invisible sheath, Kirito activated the twin-consecutive-hit skill "Snake Bite." Letting a light purple glow engulf his azure blade, Kirito artificially delayed the activation of the skill to the brink of cancellation until finally releasing it at the peak of it's power the very instant Yuuki's blade burst into his sword's reach.

On its own, "Snake Bite" was already a relatively fast skill that assaulted a specified target from two opposing sides like a preying viper, however, by optimizing the system assist with the supplementary movement of his own body, Kirito was able to improve the skill to the point where both impacts would collide almost simultaneously.

Unfortunately he wasn't the only one with such unreasonable level of skill.

Unleashing an attack that seemed as if she struck out with two swords instead of one, Yuuki's "Parallel Sting" overcame Kirito's "Snake Bite" in terms of sheer speed due to the lighter weight of her sword and managed to resist his powerful blows long enough to snake past his defenses.

While Kirito's "Snake Bite" was usually intended to hit a single target only, Yuuki's unreasonable speed made it so that his first and second hits clashed with her own first and second hits which slightly diverted her successive thrusts and caused them to cut through Kirito's right upper thigh and left hip, reducing his HP by another 4%.

Nevertheless, seeking to turn the situation around, Kirito continued the assault by throwing out a piercing attack of his own, this time leading with the obsidian sword he held in his left. Though her own sword was pinned down by Kirito's right, Yuuki attentively gazed at the sword's approaching tip and let her refined battle instinct take over the movement of her body.

Not wasting a single instant pondering her next move, Yuuki threw back her head to widen the shrinking distance and struck out with her left palm.

Slowing the speed of the approaching blade by catching it with her padded gloves, Yuuki barely managed to let it slip past and shear of pixels of her cheek. Dodging towards Kirito's now unprotected left, Yuuki was once again behind his back.

With a powerful jerk of her arm she forced her sword free from it's aqua-colored contender and spun it congruently to her body's fluid motions, sparking yet another particle effect to life while Kirito had barely any time to react.

Since Yuuki's iron grip continued it's hold on his outstretched left sword, Kirito was unable to fend off her attack with a quick slash at her weaker side and was thus forced to travel the longer path. Releasing and flexing his palm, reversing his hold on his left sword to a back-handed grip and shifting his bodyweight to his pivoting point, Kirito briskly spun his remaining circumference to the right.

While spinning his body almost 180° obviously cost him precious time, he took note of the centrifugal force harvested by his right sword and violently smashed it's entirety directly into the purply raging blade of his opponent.

Unfortunately, his best effort reaped naught but minimal success as they met with Yuuki's Original Sword Skill "Alpha Oblivion".

While his raw strike somehow managing to defend against her first bottom-right to top-left diagonal blow, he was left defenseless for the following left-to-right horizontal slash and the succeeding top-right to bottom-left diagonal slash.

Unable to even contort his body to minimize the damage, he was helplessly blown away along with 30% of his HP.

"… shit", Kirito whispered as he checked the upper left corner of his vision only to see his HP barely hovering above the yellow zone at 60%.

On the other hand, Yuuki merely took 2% damage from the DoT (Damage over Time) caused by griping his sword and the faint scratch on her cheek, putting her maximum HP at a dominating 98%.

Any hesitation and chivalry he might have buried prior to this match were now discarded by his growing temper.  
His mental gears kicked up another notch and hummed in perfect unison.  
The jolts of adrenaline racing along his fingertips caused a prickling numbness.  
Kirito welcomed this nostalgic pain immediately. This was his body pushing itself to it's utmost edge of ability.  
Tossing and catching the midnight blade in his left, he corrected the grip and lowered his center of gravity like a lion about to jump on his prey.

Despite boasting an obvious HP advantage, Yuuki was dreadfully aware of the prickly cold shiver running down her spine, telling her to run, telling her hide, hide from the humming pair of swords pointed at her soft warm flesh. The change in Kirito's aura was as obvious as night and day, pressuring Yuuki to slide back half a pace and take up a defensive stance to brave the oncoming storm.

Not even a second after she got into position, Kirito practically disappeared from her vision, only leaving an orange trail of kindling flames (the trajectory of his swords) behind him.

Against all odds of surviving his assault unscathed, Yuuki spurned herself to charge straight into death's jaw, gyrating her nimble body fast enough to build up enough strength for an overhead roundhouse slash to clash against Kirito's burning uppercut.

Closing the distance in the mere blink of an eye, Kirito let the first hit of his 2-hit combo fly, effortlessly knocking away the downward slash delivered by Yuuki.

 _"No way?!"_

Let alone an uppercut, Yuuki's roundhouse slash should have been powerful enough to force a plate-armored salamander tank to his knees! Instead of being blown away like a twig in the wind, Yuuki meant for her blow to break Kirito's sword skill long enough to cancel the system assist and follow up while he was paralyzed, yet just the opening move of his skill was enough to completely break her stance. As her bones rattled from the impact, Yuuki finally understood why the 10 unique skills were removed during the release of "New Aincrad" into ALO.

Rather than issues pertaining programming and coding, these skills were deleted for the game breaking potential even a single skill amongst the many possessed.

In the first place, amongst the 10 unknown players that were in possession of those unique skills, Kirito was likely the only one who was able to faithfully replicate them in ALO with help of the OSS (Original Sword Skill) system due to burning the exact movement of each of his sword skills into his brain and body additional to possessing the superhuman skill to replicate them without system assist … for the most part at least.

Currently he had only been able to replicate three of the many dual-blades sword skills, not including "Starbust Stream" or "The Eclipse", and was thus left with little variety to choose from. Nevertheless, just by having access to a single one he was able to turn the tides of battle.

Smashing Yuuki's sword aside with little effort, Kirito pulled back his left arm for the deciding finishing blow; a pinpoint thrust attack aimed directly at her throat with unforgiving accuracy.

Purely relying on her inherent instinct "to flee", Yuuki's body moved before she herself was conscious of her own body's movement.

Activating a martial arts OSS taught to her by Asuna, Yuuki's left leg was covered by the leaf-green particle effect of the 1-hit low-kick martial skill "Senpu", and hurriedly urged her body to quicken the system assist's guidance.

Since the attack was essentially a lower leg sweeping attack, her body swiftly dropped into crouching position in preparation for the assault. Additionally, due to it being a martial skill, Yuuki was able to take advantage of the system assist to lower her body at speeds impossible even for her, and spare her throat from impalement. Trading her life for a gaping cut near the base of her neck that dropped her HP by 13%, Yuuki could feel her heart beating at a million beats per second as she swallowed down her dread and dedicated all of her concentration to her miraculous counter-attack.

As he had just executed an extremely high-leveled sword skill himself, Kirito should have been subsequently punished by a lengthy freezing penalty and allow Yuuki to press her advantage… or at least that was what should have happened.

Suddenly noticing Kirito's right fist approaching her chest whilst covered in a flickering orange glow, Yuuki didn't even have the luxury to ask herself why he was suddenly unarmed.

But that was impossible!

Glancing at the sword that was still lodged in her collarbone, Yuuki confirmed that the previous glow had definitely vanished, meaning that his 2-hit dual-blades skill should have definitely ended.

In other words, the rapidly approaching orange fist was not the third hit of his previous skill, but the first hit of an entirely new skill! He overwrote the penalty of using a high leveled sword skill altogether by knitting it together with another skill the instant before the paralysis set in.

Kirito was currently the only player nationwide to have shown proficiency in this miraculous maneuver, his trademark Outside System Skill appropriately nicknamed, "Skill Connect"

Bracing herself for impact, Yuuki's powerful kick and Kirito's rushed punch connected with their respective opponent at the exact same time. Due to having higher priority, Yuuki's skill inflicted more damage than Kirito's simple punch, reducing his HP by 10% while she only suffered 5% damage.

Kirito's maximum HP now visibly turned yellow as it passed the halfway mark of 50%, while Yuuki still seemed to be the clear victor of the match due to retaining 80% of her HP despite Kirito's deadly assault. However, Kirito's skill was far from over.

Stretching out his fingers and reaching towards the sky, Kirito grasped for the hilt of his ominously glittering blade.

 _"He threw it!?"_

Kirito caught the spinning guillotine after lightly jumping off the ground and coldly stared down at the helplessly immobile prey directly beneath him. Yuuki was trapped in place by the delay caused by her martial arts skill and could do little but gaze in awe at the unfathomable power of the combined might of Kirito's two most powerful abilities, "Dual-Blades" and "Skill-Connect".

Firmly grasping the leather handle of Lizbeth's masterpiece, the orange glow that previously surrounded his palm now spread to the deadly longsword. Much like a comet falling from the sky, Kirito's mad descent landed a direct hit on Yuuki and savagely gouged out 35% of her total life force.

Blown away by the heavy impact to her chest, Yuuki was barely able to remain on her feet with only 45% of HP left. Silence assailed the battlefield as both combatants inaudibly agreed on a temporary ceasefire to catch their breath.

 _"Not only did she manage to completely evade my fastest dual-blades skill 'Double Circular', but she managed to react to my 'Meteor Fall' in time to regain her footing after taking a direct hit. Even though I went all out with my 'Skill Connect' I was still unable to break her balance. Does she have any limit at all?!"_ , Kirito contemplated in his mind, a visible scowl present on his face.

Meanwhile, Yuuki wore a similar expression.

 _"I have never seen, or even heard of a sword skill as fast as that dual-blades skill he used. Even though Asuna told me about his 'Skill Connect' before, I can't believe how powerful it is in an actual fight. Not only does he shamelessly exploit your weaknesses, but he even manages to overcome his own with ingenuity and ability alone. He wasn't even nowhere near his full potential when we first fought…"_

Now that Kirito was at half HP, Yuuki would normally finish the fight by overwhelming the enemy with "Mother's Rosario", which was able to inflict up to 80% - 90% damage depending on how accurately she was able to land it. Despite that, she felt that Kirito would be able to take advantage of her premature use of the skill and counter with a dual-blades skill of his own. With two more secret dual-blade moves in his arsenal, Yuuki was not willing to gamble her victory this easily.

In other words, she would first have to create a sure opening before finishing him with her OSS. Yet the same could be said for Kirito as well. With either of them able to finish of the other in a single move, the tension in the air became even more precarious than it had been before. With both of them retaining a similar amount of maximum HP (Kirito-50%, Yuuki-45%), the outcome of the math remained unclear. The air they breathed was nigh suffocating.

Kirito and Yuuki raised their swords.

The Black Swordsman's right blade was dipped in the blood-red flames of hell.

The Absolute Sword's weapon shone in heaven's iridescent white.

In a standoff that resembled apocalyptic battle between angels and demons, Kirito finished charging up his "Vorpal Strike" just when Yuuki was on the brink of releasing her "Flashing Penetrator".

In the next instant, the space between them was torn apart by the earsplitting cry of a jet engine noise and the bursting explosion of a sonic boom.

In less than a tenth of a second, Kirito and Yuuki crossed the distance of several meters and thrust out their swords at the same exact time.

The very tips of their swords, like mirror images of the same sword, moved ever closer at unbelievable speed.

The system was unable to keep up with the two warring monsters and took a whole 2 seconds before the sound effect of the two clashing forces drowned out the already excruciating noise of the individual sword skill's activation, and exploded outwards like an invisible bomb.

* * *

"Hurry we are going to miss it!"

"I didn't expect you to take so long."

"Never mind that, why didn't you call me sooner?!"

"Eh? Didn't you say you had to fill in for a friend of yours Klein?"

"It's ok, I have another friend of mine fill in for me right now. I mean, who would want to miss Kirito and Yuuki going at it at full power?!"

"Are you saying Kirito is dual wielding?"

"Well, that's what they said, I don't know if he is actually doing it though?"

"Anyway, let's hurry up!"

Having called in the original group consisting of Asuna, Lizbeth, Klein, Agil, and the sleeping knights, Sinon and Silica (+Pina) had told them about the spectacle that was currently ongoing in the virtual world of ALO.

Apparently that was lure enough to make all their friends log-in in a matter of minutes, seeing the whole group was currently sprinting towards the location of the two blurred dots on their mini-map that represented the two legendary swordsmen.

Just from the audible explosions alone one would assume that this was not a battle between two players, but rather one fought out between two floor bosses instead.

When the two combatants finally came into sight, one could already see a spotted flock of players gathered around the makeshift arena, floating around the battle field and recording the duel with precious recording crystals. One player could even be seen opening a precious portal to the local teleporting crystal to allow any curious players immediate access to this once in a lifetime showdown between the virtual world's strongest swords.

Regardless of the commotion however, the fighters themselves paid their growing audience no heed. Rather than choosing not to pay attention to them, they probably hadn't even noticed the presence of other players yet due to the sheer focus needed to buy themselves an additional second amongst the living.

Surpassing the speed of cognitive thought, their attacks blurred into black and purple mist which seemed more like intangible aura rather than physical swords. At their respective aura's intersection, the bright flashes and sparks where the only proof that their swords still even existed.

It seemed that neither of them had dared to chance the activation of a sword skill yet, prompting the battle to unfold at ultra close range and be governed by inherent skills and reflexes alone.

Both of their HP bars were in the red.

Throwing down his left sword in a diagonal downward slash from the top-left to the bottom-right, Kirito indiscriminately slashed at his adversary.

 _"..why …"_

Feinting a low aimed strike, Yuuki dropped down on her left leg and struck at Kirito's left sword's pommel from below.

 _"… even though I am faster…"_

Revealing the right sword from behind his back, Kirito used the motion of switching from a backhanded grip to a normal grip to deliver a savage uppercut aimed at Yuuki's chest.

 _"… even though I have two swords…"_

Letting go of her sword for a brief instant, Yuuki flexed her left leg and dashed towards her right while spinning 90° to the left, grasping the handle of her sword that was now just centimeters from her face, and met Kirito's uppercut head on.

 _"… why …"_

Once again locking their swords together for the hundredth time, their lethal dance came to a brief halt before starting all over again.

 _"Why can't I break through her defense?!"_

 _"Why can't I break through his defense?!"_

Decreasing each others HP pixel by pixel, their struggle was bound to end eventually, however, for the two battle crazed maniacs such an unsatisfying outcome would be even worse than defeat.

At the height of their desperation, both parties caught each others eyes and came to a mutual conclusion.

Taking a single step back, it initially seemed as if they were going to call it a tie … until their swords were dyed in brightly lit illuminance.

The previously loudly cheering audience suddenly dropped dead silent, and an eerie stagnation covered the battlefield. This reaction was only appropriate considering that Yuuki's legendary OSS "Mother's Rosario", and Kirito's previously unknown 5-hit dual-blades OSS "Stellar Collision" were finally going to measure up against another.

Which would reign victorious?

The Black Swordsman or the Absolute Sword?

With nothing else to lose, this friendly spar had turned into an all or nothing gamble for one's life and pride.

In the few instants that remained before the clash, unseen by anyone but the fighters themselves, Yuuki and Kirito both donned confident smiles. Up to this point, they had ceaselessly struggled for an advantage, for a dominating lead over the other, but now that they had reached this point all that seemed obsolete. This, now, was the true fight. Everything else was merely leading up to this final stage. This moment, this instant, this ultimate confrontation was the true contest of skill.

Therefore there as no need to be worried anymore, to be scared or anxious. It was now, in the following instant, that they could clash as equals and decide things once and for all.

Simultaneous to the activation of their sword skills, Kirito and Yuuki bellowed awe-inspiring battle cries, marking the beginning of the end.

Admittedly, "Stellar Collision" wasn't a dual-blades skill that originally existed in Aincrad, but rather an original OSS of Kirito's own design created for a single purpose. After previously suffering defeat at the hands of Yuuki's "Mother's Rosario", Kirito realized that he had to craft a skill of rivaling power to even hope to stand up against her 11-hit combo if the need ever arose. However, days passed by and he continued to fail to replicate "Starbust Stream". Then it dawned on him. If he was unable to surpass "Mother's Rosario's" quantity, he would have no other choice but focus on quality instead.

Thus, "Stellar Collision" was born.

"Stellar Collision's" first two hits were a synchronized X-shaped attack delivered from the top-right and top-left to bottom-left and bottom-right with both swords at once. Kirito knew that he would never be able to match Yuuki in raw speed alone, and thus decided to use her own speed against her.

"Mother's Rosario's" first five hits consisted of five high speed thrusts aimed at the opponents left shoulder and slanting down to their right hip. The unfathomable speed of it's execution made it nearly impossible to block or dodge, but by perfectly timing the execution with his his own X-shaped dual swing, Kirito could attempt to absorb all five hits into his right sword, negating all damage and managing to attack with his left sword at the same time.

Unfortunately, his attack was weakened due to taking her five hits head on and merely shattered her sturdy chest plate.

The third and fourth hits of "Stellar Collision" were a mid leveled horizontal slash executed by the left sword, sweeping from the left to the right, and a vertical downward slash of the right sword.

However, once again, Yuuki bent the trajectory of her blade to it's very limit, nearly risking the interruption of her sword skill, to target Kirito's dual blades instead of his body, and successfully diverted them enough to prevent any direct hits. Nevertheless, she could not stop them from grazing her unprotected chest, but was also able to land indirect blows on her opponents body as well.

With a mere flickering red pixel of HP left on both sides, Kirito and Yuuki pulled back their swords for the eleventh and fifth hit of their respective combos. In both cases, it was a high powered pinpoint thrust attack.

Each urging their blades forward, the high powered thrust attacks struck out against each other, exerting enough pressure to create a small sized tremor at the point of impact.

It was a fascinating sight to behold. Despite standing stationary, merely pushing their swords against each other, the flattering hair and clothes and the ever-present earsplitting grinding noise of metal endowed this scene with an intensity infinitely superior to the tension present throughout their previous confrontation.

There were only a few seconds left until the system manually shut down their sword skills due to inactivity, a testament of their evenly matched strength, yet their swords refused move a single millimeter in their constant struggle for supremacy.

A tie would have been the expected outcome. The two strongest swordsmen would simply remain the two strongest swordsmen, the unchanged power balance would continue it's stagnant existence. It was already widely acknowledged that both fighters were equal in strength already, which meant that a tie would have been the easiest way to conclude this battle.

Yet.

The same could not be said for the swordsmen themselves.

They possessed a quality that many others lacked, a quality that would continue to push them forward even when all seemed lost. Had she not acquired this gift during her long and strenuous travels, Yuuki may have been content with ending this contest in a tie. But above all else, she could not allow herself to lose to him for one reason and one reason only. The force that spurned her heart into overdrive was nothing other but her naive pride as a swordsman!

Kirito horridly noticed a change in the air surrounding Yuuki.

Her sword was locked in place, her movement was restricted, yet despite all odds stacked against her... Kirito widened his eyes in disbelief.

"… no way …"

Time came to a halt when Yuuki revealed her glimmering hand from Kirito's obstructed vision. Glowing in a completely different color than "Mother's Rosario", it was obviously not a hidden 12th hit or anything as absurd as that. There was only one explanation for the miracle that unfolded before his very eyes.

Yuuki successfully used "Skill Connect" to chain together the martial arts skill "Senda" together with her ultimate OSS "Mother's Rosario".

There was nothing Kirito could do; nothing he wanted to do. He had lost.

Despite putting everything they had into this fight, Yuuki still managed to surpass herself at the very last moment.

The flickering yellow light slowly urged her shivering hand forward like a starving pilgrim.  
"Senda" was millimeters away from crossing the distance between the two, ending the fight once and for all.  
However.  
As it gave of a dying spark, the light effect diminished just as it brushed against Kirito's surcoat.

Her body frozen due to the penalty. Yuuki offered little resistance as Kirito's blade slipped past her own and pierced her body, bursting her body into a spectacular flaming orb.

* * *

Sipping spiced wine from his favorite wooden cup while sitting on the desolate roof of his home, Kirito solemnly observed the festivities going on in the garden below him.

After the fight had ended, Asuna rushed in before anyone else to revive Yuuki and scold them both for acting recklessly without telling her. With no appropriate excuse to offer in turn, the two fierce combatants had no choice but to meekly sit through her scolding lecture, though it soon became obvious to everybody that Asuna was only mad at them for leaving her behind.

Wrapping things up in her own cheerful way of doing things, Yuuki (with Asuna's permission of course) invited every player present to join them for a celebratory barbecue. Naturally, the participants would have to contribute to the food and wine if they wanted to enjoy the festivities to lessen the burden on the hosts.

Sneaking off during the ensuing commotion, Kirito observed the celebration from the roof. Looking down at his hand as he repeatedly flexed and stretched his palm, Kirito was lost in thought.

 _"… I won, huh?"_

Despite having won the battle, the taste of victory was bitter on his tongue despite the sweetened wine in his cup. What happened back there was by no means a victory, but merely a slip of fate.

Even though he was dual wielding, using his dual-blades OSS for the first time in public, and even making use of "Skill Connect", he was only barely able to keep up with Yuuki's speed and skill. Not only that, but despite being fairly evenly matched all the way up to the end, Yuuki managed to ultimately surpass him yet again by absorbing "Skill Connect" to her own large arsenal of skills. True, she hadn't perfected it yet, but she had been close back then… frighteningly close.

"After all, I am always one step behind…", Kirito absentmindedly sighed as he noticed Yuuki amidst the celebrating crowd, cheerfully frolicking from person to person as they congratulated her on a well fought battle.

Before he knew it, Kirito couldn't suppress a joyous smile.

No. He definitely wasn't the victor of today's battle.

Sluggishly rising up from his comfortable sitting position, he made is way down to the party before a certain gluttonous imp finished all the bacon.

* * *

 **Author's Note**

There we go.

I know this little short story got a bit out of hand in terms of length, but by the end it seemed to write itself more than I had control over, so I thought it was best to let it run it's course?

Hopefully you enjoyed what I conjured up, and hopefully I didn't piss anyone off with how I ended it.

Obviously I cheated my way out of the ending by making it seem like both of them won/lost, but honestly, I don't think that a battle between the two should ever end in a decisive victory or a clear loss. Their own circumstances simply differ way to much for anybody to draw a clear line between them, which is why I honestly believe that neither of the two should at any point be a clear victor over the other. If you have reason to believe that I simply am too weak willed to decide on one, please feel free to tell me. I'd be interested to hear your arguments ^^


	2. Alternate Ending

**Author's Note**

Hey there, this is ChristmasForJuan.

A few days ago "Delta Marauder" messaged me regarding the ending of this story, prompting me to tell him that the original ending actually included a scene between Kirito and Yuuki which was later scraped in favor of the current ending because I didn't feel it fit the mood of the story as well. Nevertheless, since he wished to see how the story would have originally ended, I re-wrote this scene from my notes and turned it into a publishable version since I believed that I might as well publish it if I already wrote it.

Anyway, even though this was supposed to be the original ending, it is now the alternate ending, so I don't really know where to place it myself. In other words, you are free to choose whichever ending you prefer to be your "true" ending. The choice is up to you.

* * *

 **March 6, 2026**

"Kirito, are you thirsty?", Yuuki quietly asked as she stepped onto the porch.

After the fight had ended, Asuna rushed in before anyone else to revive Yuuki and scold them both for acting recklessly without telling her. With no appropriate excuse to offer in turn, the two fierce combatants had no choice but to meekly sit through her scolding lecture, though it soon became obvious to everybody that Asuna was only mad at them for leaving her behind.

Wrapping things up in her own cheerful way of doing things, Yuuki (with Asuna's permission of course) invited every player present to join them for a celebratory barbecue. Naturally, the participants would have to contribute to the food and wine if they wanted to enjoy the festivities to lessen the burden on the hosts.

Sneaking off a good while after the party, Kirito was silently gazing at the setting sun when Yuuki joined him on he porch with two glasses of spiced wine in her hands.

"Right, thanks…"

Grateful for the drink, Kirito welcomed the little imp's company as they both watched the sun's igneous descent. Enveloped in a comforting silence, the two swordsmen simply stood there for several minutes.

"Kirito."

Breaking the silence first, Yuuki did not take her eyes off the beautiful landscape as she inquired in a composed voice. With no need for a response, she simply continued.

"Thank you for fighting me today."

"There is nothing to thank me for."

"No, there is. For the past few years I traveled to and saw many different worlds. Each and everyone of them were unique and different, one more exciting than the next, but… I didn't realize it until the end of our fight but…"

Noticing that she stopped talking, Kirito turned his head towards Yuuki, only find himself gazing straight into her ruby eyes; a single glimmering tear framed her face like a diamond gem.

"I missed being alive."

Kirito was at a loss for words.

Not by Yuuki's confession, but by the unspoiled beauty of her desponded smile; the purest expression of the hopeful wish she carried in her heart.

"I…", Kirito could not find the right words to fit the moment and remained speechless.

Turning away from him to face the dying sun, Yuuki continued to wear her melancholic smile.

"You don't need to say anything. I just wanted to tell you how I feel right now. I wanted to thank you, because during that final moment … it was is if I was alive again. I had almost forgotten what it was like … to live … but you reminded me of that."

A ruby crystal reflected the flames of the smoldering horizon as it delicately hugged her cheek in it's steady descent. It's damp trail shimmered in the burning colors of the setting sun.

"So thank you … for reminding me."

The sorrowful words lingered heavily in the following silence. It was only when the fading sun shot out it's final spark that the dismal tranquility was broken.

"A.R."

Unable to comprehend the two initials Kirito had silently muttered, Yuuki curiously gazed at his calm visage.

"It stands for 'Altered Reality'. It takes the concept of 'Virtual Reality' one step further and brings the virtual world into the real world, blending both worlds together. I don't know much about it yet, but a few colleges and universities in America started researching this topic a few years ago, though they haven't made any real progress since then…"

Still puzzled by Kirito's seemingly irrelevant explanation, Yuuki was about to ask him what he meant to say, but Kirito continued before should could.

"I … I want to make it a reality. I want you and Yui to see the real world again. Not observing it through a stationary camera lens, but experiencing it on your own. Walking anywhere you want to, listening to whatever you choose to, talking to whomever you want to. If I can make 'Altered Reality' possible, you will be able to go to school again. Together with me and Asuna", giving off a light-hearted chuckle Kirito corrected himself, "though we won't be in school anymore by then."

Yuuki's vision became hazy. Kirito's outline became blurred, and all the colors merged together into an incomprehensible mosaic. However, this time it wasn't sorrow or sadness that produced her unbearably hot tears, but a mysterious and sudden throbbing joy. With a cracking voice, Yuuki responded while wiping away the flowing stream of tears.

"You idiot, I will be cured by then. There is no need for that…"

While Kirito retained his comforting smirk, Yuuki continued to brush away her tears with her back turned towards him in order to prevent him from seeing her disheveled state.

In an inaudible whisper that was nearly swallowed by the evening's mellow sounds, Yuuki's confession was meant solely for the person next to her.

"Thank you"


	3. A Swordsman's Solace

**Author's Note**

Hey there,

A few days ago an author with the name of "regfurby" messaged me and expressed his interest in the ending of this story. He brought up a concern that I shared, which was the lack of focus on Kirito's thoughts of the battle. As I had previously only centered my narration on Yuuki, "regfurby" offered to balance my story with a short epilogue from Kirito's perspective, and I was excited to read his interpretation of the ending. What I got was ... brilliant.

I was honestly surprised by the phenomenal quality of the short-story "regfurby" was willing to share with me, and I immediately asked him if it was alright to share his work with the rest of FanFiction, as it would have been a terrible waste not to. "Regfurby" happily agreed, and here we are.

This work was written and produced by "regfurby". I am merely sharing this story with the author's permission, and am honored to be allowed to do so.

Please enjoy the following epilogue.

* * *

Kirito sat watching the replay of the fight between him and Yuuki on a memory crystal, one of many that had turned up on the player market in the aftermath of their titanic clash. He was still troubled by the outcome of the fight, wondering just what it was that had allowed the young Imp to finally overcome him in the final moments of their encounter.

Oh, he may have officially won, but he knew all too well that in reality, he had lost.

Normally, he would have been content with that, having lost to someone whom he considered to be a good friend and a highly skilled opponent. There was no shame in acknowledging that the young girl, despite everything he had undergone, was still his better.

Everything changed when Yuuki died.

He was not the first to show up that day, and he was far from the last. The skies that day were covered by the wings of thousands of players from all across the server who had come to pay their respects to a fallen goddess of battle. However, he was one of the closest, and thus privy to all the emotions that had leaked from the dying young girl as she faced her end with tears of courage and the proof of her existence.

After Yuuki passed on, Asuna had shut herself in her room, unwilling to come out and face the bleak reality. Their friends were not much better, each of them having taken a brief hiatus to come to terms with their individual loss.

And that left him to sit alone in their house in ALO, watching the memory crystal replay the last fight between him and Yuuki with a growing sense of dissatisfaction in the pit of his stomach.

It wasn't a sense of dissatisfaction at having lost. No, he was fine with that.

It wasn't a sense of dissatisfaction at being beaten by a little girl. No, he had his ego, but Yuuki deserved that win, had fought tooth and nail to achieve it.

It was a sense of dissatisfaction that he was missing... something. That there was a sense of incompleteness about the battle, something he was not seeing, some sort of message lying just beyond the range of his understanding.

Something that he knew without a shadow of doubt was incredibly vital, though what he could not say.

His eyes narrowed, following the clash from a third party's point of view as each sweep, thrust and parry were reflected in the recording, his own mental self following the movements from a first person perspective almost as if he were re-enacting the entire scene. Immersing himself in the rush, excitement and feelings that ran rampant throughout their battle, clashing with each stroke of their swords and reflecting in the gleam of their eyes.

He rode the wave of feelings as disbelief became focused determination, joy replaced caution and reckless abandon was tempered by skill and experience. With each clash of their blades, he could feel his own feelings being reflected in his opponent, the two of them waltzing a dance of death with each other as their partners, pitting their best against the very best. They pushed past the limits set on them by humanity, pushed past the limits set on them by reality, and pushed at the very boundaries of perfection.

Then, the final attack.

He had calculated his move perfectly, planned and designed for it to counter her masterpiece, to break the strength of her Ultimate Move through his own and defeat her resoundingly. It was the culmination of all his experience and skill, a move that would shatter the power of the Absolute Sword.

And it was stopped.

Stopped cold by the very same attack it was meant to break. His dual blades stopped by her single rapier. The combined might of all his strength, skill and experience, and it still fell short.

Why? Why?

Unseeing eyes watched as the swords struggled against each other, their tips sending sparks skittering across the metal. Dual auras of blue and red lighting enhanced their senses as they fought for supremacy over that tiny bit of space, the outcome of their battle perfectly balanced on that razor's edge between them where even the slightest of mistakes would tilt the balance in their opponent's favor.

But Kirito's attention wasn't on that, it was on the chant that seemed to resonate across their connection, a chant that he had not picked up on in their battle.

Even as his image focused its disbelieving gaze on the wavering tip of their swords, Kirito's eyes were locked only on Yuuki's.

 _I cannot lose. I cannot lose._

Her eyes reflected nothing but pure determination. The fire in her eyes burned brighter than anything he had ever seen before.

 _I cannot lose._

Unseen by his phantom, her fist slowly clenched, its position captured perfectly by the unknown individual who was recording the battle.

 ** _I cannot lose._**

Yellow light flickered into being.

 **I WILL NOT LOSE!**

... As the battle resolved itself, Kirito slumped back into the chair in a daze, his eyes staring blankly at the screen.

He was wrong.

Yuuki hadn't beaten him by holding back one last trump card in reserve.

Yuuki had beaten him by creating her last trump card out of nothing but her sheer indomitable desire to win.

How could he have been so blind?

As his mind slowly refocused itself on the present, bits and pieces of scattered information seemed to fall into place perfectly, unlocking a previously hidden puzzle that he had sensed on some level but had been unable to complete.

His Outside System Skill, Skill Connect, was not something that could simply be copied. Asuna and his other friends had tried to use it with various degrees of success with his help, but they had all professed that something felt off when using it, preventing them from using it instinctively the way he was able to.

It was a skill that could only be fully unlocked in battle, a skill created from a desperate need to do so.

A need that he had seen reflected in Yuuki's eyes in that final moment.

A need that he had experienced first-hand, back in the Floating Castle of Aincrad.

Kirito felt his fists clench tightly, the simulated muscles quivering in his arms as he cast his mind back.

When was the last time he had experienced such a burning need to win?

 _The Gleam Eyes. The Skull Reaper. Heathcliff. Sugou._

When had he lost the desire, the **need** to win against all odds?

He had figuratively hung up his second sword, professing that he would no longer need it to fight against friends.

He had fully immersed himself in the real world, content that the world of Virtual Reality was finally just that, virtual.

He had basked in the happiness that a peaceful life was indeed possible, even for scarred survivors like him.

... He had completely lost the sharpened edge that had kept him alive, kept him **living** , kept him **being the best** all these years.

Kirito slumped forward in his seat, burying his face in his hands. He had suspected the possibility, but never could he have believed how much of his edge he had lost. After all, his senses were still sharp, his skills and reflexes still keen. The many new challenges he had faced, he had been able to overcome them through his wealth of skill and experience.

No...that was not true. There was one exception.

Back during the GGO incident, XaXa had beaten him. The madman had taunted him, all but declaring that the Kirito of the present was nothing but a pale shadow, a mockery of the infamous Black Swordsman of Aincrad. He had flaunted his overwhelming skill and power in Kirito's face, daring him to do his best and to watch it helplessly be crushed.

It was only through Asada Shino's, Sinon's help that Kirito had finally defeated the specter from his past, locking it away for good in real life.

Even then, he had already felt the faint stirrings of unease, but ultimately had passed it off as just a one-off incident, a freak occurrence where an individual had become so obsessed with beating him that he had finally succeeded. It was not something he was expecting to encounter again, not amongst his human opponents at least.

And then, he met the girl known as Konno Yuuki.

Right from the start, he had felt something different about the young girl. Something that felt familiar, even nostalgic. It had confused him at the time, but as he grew to knew more about Yuuki and her friends, he finally understood where that feeling was coming from.

To Yuuki and her friends, this world, this entire Virtual Reality was their real world. Just like when Aincrad was his reality, everything they did, they did it with the knowledge that this action could be their last, that death was real and there was no do-over. Even if the Virtual Reality did not actually kill them, there was no knowing how long their real bodies would last, and so they lived each day as if it was their final one.

True, Yuuki had immersed herself in the Virtual World for longer than Kirito had, allowing her to connect more thoroughly with the FullDive system. True, Yuuki had him beat in speed and reflexes thanks to her incredible connection with the FullDive system, even as Kirito still held the advantage in strength and experience. True, both of them were combat geniuses who were able to consistently pull off impossible moves that brought them back from the brink of defeat.

But the true deciding factor, the one that had swung the match overwhelmingly in Yuuki's favor, was her sheer determination to win against the odds. An inner strength that she had persisted with throughout her entire life, that Kirito had forsaken in this time of peace.

Something that Yuuki had now returned to Kirito, a final unknown gift she had triggered with her death.

"...The determination to win, eh?" The Black Spriggan whispered, his head bowed. "Heh. Hehehe."

Twin streams of glistening liquid trickled down his cheeks, the similarity of this situation to the one he had experienced all those Christmases ago not being lost on him.

 _'Even if I die, you should strive to survive. Live on, look upon this world until it ends, please help me find out the reason why this world was created, the meaning of why such a timid person is in this world, the significance of our meeting.'_

 _'That is my wish.'_

"...Sa..chi." He had forgotten. Buried her memory along with all the others, back in the world of Aincrad, in a time and place he had thought himself to be over and done with.

After all, he had survived, hadn't he? He had saved their world, saved all the people still trapped within Aincrad. Ended the nightmare of two long years with the defeat of the man who had started it all.

Only, it wasn't over. It would never be over. The world Sachi spoke of was not just of the Virtual Reality of Aincrad, but the whole of reality itself. It had taken Yuuki's death, the reminder of their mortality in the real world for him to understand that. The determination to survive against all odds, the strength to surpass all limits, the fortitude to see the world to its end and declare that their existence had meaning... it was something that Sachi, and now Yuuki, had entrusted to him.

Kirito slowly got to his feet, his tears dissipating as he did so. His hand reached out to activate his menu, and with a small flash of light, a magnificent golden sword appeared in his hand.

The Holy Sword Excalibur. Or, to Kirito, the Proof of his Bonds.

It was a sword he had acquired only with the help of all of his friends against nearly impossible odds. It was a sword he had sworn never to use for his own benefit, only in the aid of others.

The last time he had equipped this sword was to protect Yuuki, to safeguard her dream of etching her name into immortal stone on the Monument of Swordsmen. The names of the six Sleeping Knights were now preserved until the end of this world, a tribute to their very existence.

He hadn't used this sword in battle against Yuuki. Not only would it have cheapened the victory, he also felt, in some intangible way, that it would cheapen the Holy Sword itself, taint the purity of its essence.

It was illogical, he knew. After all, it was just a mass of data. Knowing this still didn't convince him otherwise however.

Ultimately, all that was irrelevant. Right here and now, wielding the Holy Sword that symbolized all the bonds he had made throughout his journeys, Kirito could feel his lost resolve return to him, the complacency and weakness that had crept into his body without him realizing being banished and replaced by the strength and indomitable will that had served him well over the years.

"...Sachi, forgive me. I'll never forget myself again."

 _Keep on living, Kirito. See the end of the world for me._

"...Yuuki, you're truly the Absolute Sword. I admit defeat."

 _I'm certain we'll meet again, someday._

Looking at his reflection in the window, he saw the face of Aincrad's Black Swordsman smiling back at him.

His grip tightened around the hilt of Excalibur.

"But from now on..."

His dark coat materialized around his shoulders as he turned towards the doorway. It was still early, there was plenty of time to get in some training. And after that... there were several projects he needed to get started on immediately in the real world.

"... From now on, I'm **never** going to lose again."


End file.
